Crop Life Canada and Grain Growers of Canada appeared before a House of Commons finance committee meeting in Saskatoon yesterday, asking the federal government to boost trade negotiations, reduce trade barriers and reinvest royalties from successful Agriculture Canada innovations into current research.
Dennis Prouse of Crop Life Canada asked government to pursue changes to trade negotiation agreements, eliminate trade barriers between Canada and the United Sates and complete the work of the Red Tape Reduction Commission, which seeks to reduce governmental regulatory barriers to trade.
Todd Hames of Grain Growers of Canada lobbied for changes in the accounting of Agriculture Canada’s royalty income derived from successful innovations.
” In the absence of increased direct federal contributions … the federal government should lock in the current Ag Canada research budget where it is today and then tie it to inflation,” he said.
“The government should allow all royalty streams generated by Ag Canada discoveries to be added onto the current research budget.”
The finance committee has been touring Canada to collect recommendations for inclusion in the 2012 federal budget. The committee will hold its next meeting in Ontario on Monday.
